Who or What Is "mystery Babylon" in Revelation 17?
1) Direct Answer
Mystery Babylon is the great end-time apostate church system—a religious city that rules the nations, joins with political power, and mothers other churches after her kind. It is an unfaithful “woman,” a system of worship that mixes the things of God with the world.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- It is a woman—an unfaithful church: in prophecy a woman types a church (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27). Here she is a harlot, meaning spiritual fornication—uniting with the world and idols (Revelation 17:1-2; Jeremiah 3:1-9).
- She sits on many waters—global reach: “The waters… are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:1,15).
- She is a mother system: “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS…” (Revelation 17:5). She has daughters—other churches that take her ways.
- She is rich, ceremonial, and intoxicating: “arrayed in purple and scarlet… decked with gold… having a golden cup… full of abominations” (Revelation 17:4). Her “wine” makes the nations drunk (Revelation 18:3).
- She persecutes the true saints: “drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6).
- She is a ruling city on seven mountains: “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth” and “that woman… is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:9,18).
- She rides the beast—church controlling state power—until the horns turn and destroy her (Revelation 17:3,16-17).
- God calls His people out: “Come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:4).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- A pure woman portrays the Bride of Christ; a harlot portrays a fallen church. So this is not merely a nation; it is a religious system.
- She is centered in a specific great city known for seven mountains and worldwide influence over kings and peoples—so it’s a church-political power, not just a local congregation.
- She is a “mother,” so her daughters are other systems patterned after her—sharing her mixture of tradition with the world.
- The name “Babylon” reaches back to Babel—confusion and man-made religion (Genesis 11). “Mystery Babylon” is that same spirit in its religious form at the end: organized worship mixed with politics, wealth, and idolatry, drawing power from the beast and intoxicating the nations.
- The final word from Heaven is separation: leave the mixture and cleave to the Word, because her judgment comes suddenly (Revelation 18:8-10).
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice, the Bible paints it plainly: a mother church-system, ruling from a great city, riding worldly power, rich, ceremonial, persecuting the saints, and spawning daughters after her order. The call of God is simple—come out to the pure Word of Jesus Christ before her plagues fall.
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What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
I will restore
54-0620A §19
Now, there's the first two that I want to deal on this afternoon: Is those two boys and their spirits. Now, if you see anything... Just for instance, like Babylon. Babylon appears in Genesis. (Just give you that one thing that you might understand.) Babylon appears in Genesis. What was Babylon first? Babylon was the first setup of idolatry. And there was a man-worship in there, a man worshipped. His name was Nimrod. He was the descent of Ham. After that, they come along Sin and then Sin's wife. And she started up t...
The unconditional covenant that God made
54-0306 §24
Now, watch closely. Then immediately after the antediluvian destruction, these tribes begin to tribe off. And we notice the first time that Babylon appears, it appears in Genesis, in the beginning. It appears in the middle of the Scripture, the Bible, and it appears over in the end of the Bible, in Revelations. The seed,: God willing, tomorrow I want to speak on that. Babylon begins... As far as we know, the first time Babylon was mentioned, it was connected with idolatry. And then as we see it, and notice it conne...
The Handwriting on the wall
58-0108 §3
Now, our subject tonight begins in Babylon. And Babylon was first located, which it is yet, in the Shinar. And it was first called, "The gate of God," Babel, and later was called Babylon, which means "confusion." And Babylon appears in the first of the Bible, in Genesis; and it appears in the middle of the Bible; and it appears in the last of the Bible, the last book, Revelation. And being that it's all through the Bible, it must be in existence yet today
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 5:E-80
Babel is the original name for Babylon. It means confusion. It was literally started by Cush, the son of Ham, but was brought to a kingdom of power and grandeur under his son, Nimrod, the mighty hunter. Nimrod, according to the Genesis eleven account and also according to profane history, set out to accomplish three things. He wanted to build a strong nation, which he did. He wanted to propagate his own religion, which he did. He wanted to make a name for himself, which he also accomplished. His accomplishments wer...
Why I am a holy-roller
53-0830A §24
Now, we go back to Genesis to find out everything. We take, for instance, the word... Let's just use a little illustration here like "Babylon." Let's find out where "Babylon" come from. Let's look at it. The first place that it was pronounced ... or, we find "Babylon," it was founded by Nimrod. And Nimrod was a son of Ham. And you come back ... and this goes back to the curse. And then it comes out it was once called the "Gates of Heaven," or "Gates of Paradise," or something like that. Then it was called "confusio...